When You Lose Yourself
by ElektraVamp05
Summary: Jack is hiding something. The Guardians know he is, his seasonal siblings know he is, his Mother and Father know he his, and his best friend know he is. But he won't tell. They told him not to tell. They warned him, and so he listened. But will someone finally get him to tell? Will someone help him be brave?
1. Chapter 1

**This is a new story and it is a darker and more serious than my other stories. This story will be about rape and sexual assault. I am warning you now, there will be rape or at least the mention of rape. I will not be giving explicit detail of the rape, I will only describe the aftermath or lead up. So with that being said, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Dreamworks Rise of the Guardian, I only own my own plot and characters.**

The air was still and all that could be heard is quiet sobbing and a rasping sound. Inside a small cave was a young boy completely naked rubbing his pale white skin with melting snow that was stained red with blood. The boy had his head bowed, short white hair hiding weeping bright blue eyes. The boys body was covered in scratches and bite marks, ranging from his back and neck to his thighs. Already dark bruises can be seen appearing on the boy's body. The boy was named Jack Frost.

A wisp of wind flowed over Jack's head as a concerning voice whispered in his ear. They asked if he was okay, and how they could help him. But Jack just shook his head and rubbed at his skin harder.

"I'm fine Wind. I just want to get rid of their touch. I'll be okay, I'm always okay afterwards. I just...I'm fine. I'm always fine." Jack rasped not wanting to worry his friend, this has happened enough times that he had a routine down. He would run to this exact cave by his pond, he would strip, then he would rub his skin raw with snow until he saw the snow stained with his blood. Then he would redress and continue with his Winter duties. At least until they caught him again.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm...fine." He whispered as he stopped rubbing his skin, his mind retreating and allowing nothingness to fill him. He was safe in the nothingness, they can't touch him here and he can't feel their touch here. And so he let the icy touch of Winter take over while his mind tried to protect himself.

An icy howl began to pick up and as the Wind sensed what was happening to their child they began to swirl around their child trying to protect them from the world because they had been unable to before. But by whirling around their child they were adding to the icy howl and soon a massive blizzard began to build. Soon the once calm, still area was now a howling storm. Snow and ice covered the surrounding area trapping people in their homes and the people that were outside rushing to get indoors. All events in the city were canceled, including the citywide Easter egg hunt.

The blizzard became known as the Blizzard of '68, with a death toll of 12 people, and thousand of dollars of damage to buildings and homes. It became the day that Jack Frost made an enemy of the Easter Bunny.

It became the day that Jack lost a piece of himself.

The day Jack Frost began to die.

**I hope that you guys are intrigued by this and please let me know what you think and if I should continue this story. This will also not be a very long story. The most it will get is possible 10 chapters and at least 5 chapters. So till next time!**


	2. Chapter 1: The First Suspicion

** Hey guys, I know it has been a while, I'm so sorry. I actually had this chapter finished on August 3, but something happened in my hometown and I was just shaken. I stayed away from my stories and just focused on my community and was just waiting for news. I just started to edit this chapter today because I felt like I can finally breathe. **

** I have also decided to split this original 5k+ chapter. So I can give y'all two chapters but they are around 2k+, shorter than my usual chapters and so the next chapters may be of similar length. So for now, here is the next chapter, and I wonder if y'all can guess what I'm going for. P.S. Please read the bottom Authors note, some important info is going to be there. On to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Dreamworks Rise of the Guardians or William Joyce's characters from the books Guardians of Childhood. I only own my own plot and characters.**

E. Aster Bunnymund was worried. It had been 5 months since they defeated Pitch Black with the help of their new Guardian Jack Frost. Though they were all still recovering from the battle. Aster had actually just recently been able to clean up the left over mess from when Pitch attacked the Warren on Easter. He hadn't gotten a chance to clean since after the battle had ended, everyone ended up in the infirmary and Aster went into hibernation to replenish his magic core. He was out for about 2 months.

North was hard at work preparing for Christmas but even he had to rest to replenish his own magic core, though it hadn't been as damaged as Aster's was. Tooth had been hard at work trying to organize all of the tooth boxes that Pitch had taken, as well as breaking the spell that he had placed on all of them. Damn bastard had tainted almost every memory in the tooth boxes, many of the memories now had shadows of fear which seemed to be the reason that belief was lost so quickly. Tooth was exhausted but she was able to create more of her fairies to help her break the spells as well as organize. She was lucky that Baby Tooth, the little tooth fairy that Jack had saved, had taken over tooth collecting.

Sandy hadn't needed to actually get any rest as he was able to restore his core just fine though he did visit Tooth almost every other day to make sure she slept. And he was the only one that was able to track Jack down when the rest of the Guardians had been looking for him. It seemed that after Aster went into his hibernation, Jack had vanished and dropped contact with the other Guardians. At first the others had figured that he had Winter duties, they had learned that he was the head of Winter and Winter never truly ended, but when they asked the other seasonals about where he was they said that they hadn't seen him in a while. He hadn't been seen in over 3 months.

So once Aster woke up, they decided to look for him, even the other seasonals helped. But they couldn't find a trace of him, Aster couldn't sense his magic anywhere or even catch his scent anywhere. Yet one day, Sandy called them all to North's workshop. When they arrived, they saw Jack sleeping on Sandy's dream cloud. Sandy explained that he found Jack asleep inside a deep cave near Burgess, he couldn't wake him up so he decided to bring him here in case he had any injuries. Yet as soon as North went to pick him up, Jack suddenly woke up and yelled no. He jumped off the cloud and flew up to the rafters while everyone just stared after him in shock. Tooth was the first to break out of her shock and flew up to Jack but as soon as she got close, she had to dodge as Jack shot a blast of ice at her. That prompted Aster to jump up to the rafters and try to calm him down.

As soon as he got onto the rafter, he saw that Jack was not in his right mind. His eyes were wide open and he was looking around frantically. His chest has heaving up and down violently, he was going to pass out at this rate if he doesn't calm down.

"Jack, its us! You need to calm down!" Aster called out, hoping he doesn't wind up with a blast of ice aimed at him. Jack turned toward him and started to point his staff at him but suddenly he blinked and looked around in confusion.

"Bunny? Where am I? How did I get here?" Jack asked in confusion as he looked around.

"Hey Frostbite. You're at North's Workshop. We've been looking for you, you were missing for over 3 months. We even had the seasonals help us since they haven't seen you in a while as well. You're okay, you're safe." Aster explained slowly getting closer to Jack. Jack looked around once more and seemed to finally notice where he was. And once he realized what he had done, his face became covered in frost. It seemed like this was his version of blushing.

"Oops. Sorry about that. I was just, um bad dream I guess." Jack apologized flying back down to the floor. Aster though was still confused by Jack's reaction and hoped he could get to the bottom of it.

"Jack, are you okay?" Tooth asked flying a few feet away from Jack to give him space since he still seemed skittish and was watching them all warily.

"Um, yeah I'm okay. Just not used to being touched by other people. I'm a light sleeper, its what you have to do when you sleep outside for hundreds of years." Jack answered, seeming to be telling the truth but he also averted his eyes, showing that he wasn't telling the whole truth.

"But what about when Sandy picked you up. Wouldn't you have felt him touching you? Wouldn't that have woken you up? Given that you're a light sleeper?" Aster asked in doubt.

Sandy actually raised a hand and explained that his sand is very soft and Jack may have not even noticed it. As well as exposure to his sand put him down deeper, yet Jack may have a higher resistance to the sand because of his cold temperature.

"That makes sense, I mean I didn't realize that I was being carried out of my cave. Its only when North touched me that I woke up." Jack agreed quickly.

"Yes, Bunny. It makes sense." North agreed. "Jack, my boy, are you sure your alright?" He asked worried about how he acted.

"Yeah, I'm fine North. Just didn't realize where I was. I was just...confused." Jack answered messing with his staff.

"Then what were you dreaming about Frostbite? You said you were having a bad dream." Aster asked still suspicious. Jack looked at him in annoyance but there was also a hint of fear in his eyes but when he blinked it was gone. Did Aster imagine it?

"I don't remember. I don't really remember my dreams and I especially don't remember my nightmares. I've seen too many bad things, I'd rather not remember them in my sleep." Jack snapped, getting annoyed with all of the questions. Aster opened his mouth to ask him more when he was cut off.

"Aster, leave him alone. I'm sure you'll feel the same way if you had a nightmare and woke up in a different place than where you were sleeping at. Stop questioning him like he's a suspect." Tooth interrupted laying hand on Jack shoulder, who actually twitched and seemed tempted to shrug her off. But before Aster could respond North stepped into the conversation.

"Jack, why have you been missing these past few months?" North asked.

"I was hid- hibernating. I used a lot of magic during the battle with- with Pitch and combined with gaining my memories, I was mentally and magically exhausted. I'm still a bit tired actually and given that I'm actually a little behind on my winter duties. I really should get going. Thanks for worrying about me, nice to see you all, sorry about attacking you all. Good bye." Jack explained jumping up to leave if Sandy hadn't wrapped one of his sand whips around one of Jack's ankle. Jack flinched and looked down in shock.

"Sorry Frostbite. But we have been searching for you for over a month and you're not taking off that easy." Aster told him.

"But, I really am behind on my duties. I just overslept. I'm sure my siblings are worried and Mother might be upset with me! I have to go. I promise to be back in a few weeks, once I've caught up with my duties. Just ask the Wind to find me. They'll let me know that you're looking for me." Jack explained looking a bit panicked if the frost surrounding the sand whip was any indication. Sandy, North, and Tooth exchanged looks and seemed to agree on something. Sandy let Jack go and nodded at him.

"Okay Jack, we'll see you in a few weeks. Good luck on your duties Sweet Tooth." Tooth told him giving him a smile.

"Yes Jack. good luck. We see you in a few weeks." North stated with a grin.

Aster would have said something if North had not patted his back hard enough to make him lose his breathe. Jack gave them all a smile and quickly left through an open window, but Aster could have sworn that he saw a flash of a dark bruise when his hoodie rode up on his side. _Must have been my imagination._

"North why did you just let him go?! He could have been lying and he was seriously hibernating for 3 months? He's the head of Winter and if he really was magically exhausted, he only needed a month to regain it. And even though it isn't Winter in the Northern Hemisphere it is in the Southern Hemisphere, he wouldn't be weak. He should be in tip top shape." Aster stated still suspicious over Jack's story.

"Bunny, the boy barely knows us. We may have been in battle together but we also turned our backs on him without hearing him out. We did not trust him. I will not make the same mistake twice. If the boy is hiding something, it is not our right to pry. He does not trust us and he has good reason not to. Do not push him away old friend. I must return to work. I will let his siblings know that we found him and that he is well." North warned before he left with one of his yetis by his side, discussing something.

"Argh. Come on Tooth, you have to agree with me. The kid is hiding something!" Aster argued seeing that Tooth looked upset.

"I agree that he is hiding something but,...he doesn't trust us Aster. We did that to him, because we believed everything that everyone said about him. What if they were wrong like we were? What if he is an innocent spirit that was abandoned for 300 years? And that he never did any of the things that he was accused of? Maybe he didn't cause the Titanic to fall, maybe he didn't destroy Fall's home, and maybe he didn't cause the Blizzard of '68. Maybe he's innocent." Tooth stated getting into Aster's face as her anger started to fill her.

"He did do '68. I saw him and when I confronted him, he just stared at me with those eyes and vanished. He couldn't have cared less about the destruction he had cause and when I saw him a month later he acted like it didn't happen. Maybe he didn't do the rest but he definitely did '68." Aster told her with a glare.

"Leave him be Aster. He may have a good reason for his evasiveness, don't push him further away. I have to go. I still need to finish organizing. See you all in a few weeks." Tooth told them giving them a small nod before leaving out the window.

"Well, Sandy. Are you going to help me find out Frostbite's secret?" Aster asked hoping to have some support.

Sandy however just shook his head and told him that they had to respect Jack's privacy and trust that he will come to them when he can trust them and wanted their help. He also warned Aster to leave Jack alone, he'll only push him away if he doesn't. After that he tipped a top hat at him and used his sand to create a plane and left. Now Aster was by himself.

He thought about what the others had said but he had a bad feeling about what Jack had told them. He knows Jack doesn't trust them but he cant let this go. What he really wanted to do was show Jack that he can trust him, trust them. He knows he broke Jack's trust and really he out of all the others had the least of his trust, but he does want to change that. Now all he had to do was find him.

**So I hope y'all liked this chapter and I wanted to let y'all know that I created a Tumblr blog called ElektraVamp05. I decided that this would be a good way to stay in touch with y'all and the main reason I haven't made a blog before is because, I don't really know how to use it or what to do, I have a personal blog but I mostly use that to read some stories or look at recipes and pictures. **

**So if y'all have a tumblr or just want some updates, make sure to follow me or look into it. If you have questions, you can ask me there or even make some requests, I don't mind. So hopefully see y'all there! Till next time!**

**Reviews: **

**Yellowmiki98: Thank you so much for the review, I agree that I love me some Jackie angst and I hope I can deliver. So sorry for the long wait!**

**HikariCruz: Thank you so much for your review and I hope you enjoy this chapter and that you continue to find it interesting. So sorry for the long wait!**

**Shanny-GeriSkoll98: Thank you so much for your review and I'm glad you found it interesting and I am so sorry for the long wait and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 2: A Turning Suspicion

**The next chapter! I hope y'all enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Dreamworks Rise of the Guardians or William Joyce's characters from his books Guardians of Childhood. I only own my own plot and characters.**

Its a month later and they were all in North's sitting room waiting for Jack to show up. Aster was getting antsy, he had been looking for Jack for the past month and all he got for his effort was fleeting glances and a frozen tail. The little bugger did everything he could to avoid Aster and Aster was on his last nerve.

"Where is the little show pony?" Aster murmured pacing in front of one of the windows looking out every once in a while.

"He said he vill be here. You must have patience Aster. Perhaps he lost track of time or he vas busy with Winter duties. Honestly this is one of times I wish you had not eaten as much chocolate." North stated going back to reading a letter that one of his yetis had handed him.

Aster gave out a scoff and scowled at what North was implying. He didn't need that reminder that he no longer acted like a Pooka. At least not a scholar warrior Pooka. He wonders what his superiors would think of him now, heavens knows what his father would think.

"He's still late. For all we know he could be planning to not show up and just vanish again." Aster replied sitting down across from North. Though his foot continued to tap rapidly revealing his anxiousness.

"Perhaps he doesn't want to come because you have been harassing him for the past month. When we told him we'll leave him alone! After we told you to leave him alone!" Tooth snapped. Her feathers bristling while the fairies that were surrounding her chattered angrily at him.

"I was not harassing him!" Aster snapped defensively.

Sandy shook his head and manipulated some of his sand to create an image of Aster chasing after a flying Jack over various landscapes.

"You were! Why cant you leave him alone?!" Tooth asked getting frustrated with Aster.

"He's hiding something Toothiana! Why am I the only one that cares?!" Aster exclaimed.

"You're not Aster! I care too but at least I am respectful of what Jack asked for! He asked us to leave him alone and we respected that. You didn't. Why cant you respect that?" Tooth asked in disbelief.

"I just want him to know that he can trust us. That he can trust me. That whatever he's going through, he can come to us. That we wouldn't judge him, that, we can help. That I can help." Aster explained slumping down further into his seat. Tooth's shoulders also slumped as she realized why Aster was being so persistent about helping Jack. He felt guilty. Even though they all felt guilty, minus Sandy of course, Aster felt more because when they thought Jack had betrayed them he had almost hit the poor boy. Aster had confided in her that he really did want to hit Jack, but when he saw Jack's surprised, scared face. He stopped, he realized what he was doing and he was ashamed of himself.

He had never struck a child, and he was willing to do that. He wanted to. Even though Jack was over 300 years old, he was still a child. They didn't know what age he became a spirit but the way that he acted and looked, he couldn't be older than 18. Still a child in their eyes.

"Aster. I understand you feel guilty but your guilt is pushing Jack away, not pulling him closer. Give. Him. Time. He will come to us when he is ready, you cant force him. So please, give him time to be ready. And when he's ready, he will come to us and he will trust us." Toothiana pleaded.

"How do you know that he will come to us? That he'll trust us?" Aster asked in a whisper.

"I have faith and belief." She answered simply with a small smile. Aster chuckled and gave her a brief smile.

"Well now that everything is out of the air-" North started before one of the windows suddenly opened and a strong gust of wind and snow flowed in caring a thin blue figure.

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late, I had to deal with, um, some winter and summer sprites." Jack told them as he settled on a armchair a bit further away from the others. Though he was wearing his hood up, which Aster saw as a red flag, but he had to have faith that if something was wrong Jack will tell them no matter how much Aster wanted to just stomp toward him and pull his hood down. He had to have faith and belief.

"Nothing too serious I hope." Aster asked, trying to act casual even as his fingers twitched.

"No. Just, um, some territory issues. Seems strange that summer and winter were fighting over territory when they don't even really see each other because of their seasons. They are ridiculous." Jack answered with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, causing his hood to go down revealing what he may had been trying to hide.

His left eye was bruised and he could see that in a few hours it was going to get darker and it seemed to be spreading down his cheek. Aster could also see that there was some bruising on his neck that looked like a band which made him even more concerned because it looked like someone had choked him.

"Jack what happened to your eye?" North asked in shock before Aster can say anything. Jack reached to touch his cheek and winced.

"Oh that happened when I was dealing with the sprites. Two of them started to have a fight, though instead of using their magic they used their fists. I was dumb enough to get in the middle of the fight and got a punch to the eye for my troubles. That certainly stopped the fight between everyone." Jack explained with a chuckle. Aster was mildly relieved that the black eye was an accident but he was still concern about the bruise on his neck and before he could stop himself, he asked Jack about it.

"What happened to your neck Jack? Also the fight with the sprites?" Jack's eyes flashed, but Aster couldn't tell if it was from anger or from fear.

"Um, no actually. It was from yesterday. I, um, I was sparing with, um, one of my siblings. Osiris. He was doing a choke hold but he was holding too strongly which caused some bruising. He apologized and tried to keep me at the grove but I was needed with the sprites and I had a meeting with you guys I couldn't stay. I, I had to go. But it was an accident." Jack explained seemingly nervous, though Aster couldn't tell why. Did he think they would be upset with his brother? With him?

Aster had met Osiris, he knew that the man could get a little out of hand when sparing. He underestimated his own strength and he was significantly larger than slight, thin Jack.

"Ah yes, I have met Osiris. Very enthusiastic when sparing, have gotten many bruises from him. Though he has also gotten bruises from me. Hahaha." North bellowed laughing at his memories of sparing with Osiris.

"I remember that spar, though as I recall it turned into a real fight when you insulted his girlfriend at the time." Tooth reminisced with a smirk as she sat on the arm of North's chair.

"It vas accident. I mean nothing by it. He took too much offense. And it vas little fight." North protested his cheeks turning a slight pink.

"Emily and I had to pull you two apart!" Tooth stated.

"Wait, Osiris told me about this fight. But he just said that he was fighting a Cossack, I thought that meant he was fighting a human. I have been making fun of him for years about almost losing to a human." Jack stated confused.

"Well, when North fought with him, he was barely a spirit and he still referred to himself as a Cossack. He was a cocky bastard." Aster explained.

"Well now, that seems like a story worth hearing." Jack stated getting more comfortable in his chair. Sandy, who had been asleep since Jack came in, suddenly woke up and nodded his head which lead Aster to believe that he wasn't really sleeping which made him wonder if he was actually asleep all of those other times.

"Perhaps another time Jack. For now let us start meeting, then story telling. So, Tooth why don't you begin." North compromised gesturing to Tooth.

"Thank you North. I am happy to report that I was finally able to insure that all of the current children's corrupted memories have been purged and all traces of Pitch's spell are gone. All that's left is to purge the rest of the tooth boxes though they are not as much of a priority." Tooth explained.

"What about the spirit boxes?" Aster asked for Sandy who was signing using his sand.

"None of them had a trace of the spell, it seemed he did not touch them, the only box he stole was Jack's. My fairies and I are looking into how he was able to get into the chamber.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit confused. What did you mean about the other tooth boxes and what chamber?" Jack asked.

"Well sweet tooth, every child that is currently alive is kept within the pillars and since these children are currently alive, it was best to focus on them than the other tooth boxes from the past which were also affected but since they are adults or dead, they aren't as much of a priority. Right now my fairies are working on the adult tooth boxes and then focusing on the tooth boxes of those that passed." Tooth explained.

"Oh, okay. I understand." Jack replied.

"Now as for the chamber, it is an area within my palace that contains the old tooth boxes or memories of almost every spirit in existence. Since my fairies and I have collected teeth for centuries, we have many boxes filled with memories. And we have been trusted to keep the memories safe though any spirit can take their memories if they like, though most trust us with them. Yours were a part of the collection but somehow Pitch was able to get to yours which shouldn't be possible. So we are investigating that. Hopefully we can find out the security failure and fix it as well as prevent it in the future.

"Will you be using a new spell to prevent corruption of tooth boxes?" North asked.

"Yes, I was actually hoping I can use your library to find a more effective spell and see if you are willing to help me with the research." Tooth answered with a light pink dusting on her face. Aster just rolled his eyes as North also flushed and agreed, Sandy just smiled at the two and Jack just looked confused.

"Um, so you'll find a new spell that will prevent Pitch or anyone from using magic on the tooth boxes? But if you already had spells on them, why did they fail?" Jack asked still looking at both beings with confusion.

"Well, I did have spells but Pitch has been on this earth for thousands of years, he's one of the oldest spirits in existence and he must've known the counter-spells. Hopefully North will have a spell that he wont know and if not, we can make a new spell." Tooth answered still a little flushed.

"What?! Pitch is one of the oldest? I though Mother was the oldest? And you can just make new spells?" Jack exclaimed.

"Well, technically Sandy would be the oldest, then possibly Bunny, then Pitch, and then Mother Nature, and ,I think, Manny." Tooth explained, trying to remember the order.

"What?! Bunny, you're older than Pitch and Mother? How old are you guys?!" Jack asked in shock, he hadn't expected them to be very old.

"Mate, I started life on this planet. I'm the guardian of Hope and Life. Sandy was the pilot of a star so we don't really know how old he is. Pitch was once a general of the Golden Age and Manny was a baby when he became part of the moon. Oh, and Mother Nature is Pitch's daughter though she doesn't necessarily advertise it. They have some issues." Bunny explained with Sandy agreeing and showing an image of everyone in order.

"I'm also a few thousand years old, I'm not entirely sure how old I am." Tooth added.

"Which is why I am the youngest of the group, though physically I look much older. I am only a few hundred years old." North also added amused at the Winter Spirit's reaction.

"Wow, whats the Golden Age? And why hasn't Mother told me about this? Sandy piloted a star? Pitch was a general?" Jack asked rapidly.

"How about I answer all of your questions if you tell me why you were missing for 3 months? That a deal Jackie?" Aster bargained, figuring this was a good opportunity to find out Jack's secret. Though he did notice the slight twitch Jack gave when Aster called him Jackie. Jack glanced at Aster with a hint of anger in his eyes, as well as something else.

"You know what, I have to go. I need to talk to Mother about Osiris as well as update her about the sprites. It was great to see you all and learn a bit more about you all. See you at the next meeting. Just let the Wind know, they'll find me." Jack stated moving toward one of the large windows. Tooth shot Aster a glare and moved to intercept the Winter Spirit.

"Sweet Tooth, are you sure you have to go? You can just ignore Bunny, he's just a grump." She told him hoping she can convince him to stay. Jack gave her a small smirk, amused with her calling Bunny a grump.

"Yes Jack, ignore Bunny. We vould love you to stay." North bellowed also moving to intercept the Winter Spirit.

Jack seemed to hesitate and look like he really wanted to stay and Aster expected him to change his mind and stay. But instead, a touch of air moved across his face, moving some of his bangs. His eyes widened, and suddenly his expression shut down.

"Sorry guys but I have to go. Mother has a, um, situation. I, um, have to take care of. Bye, see you next time." Jack murmured keeping his eyes down before he opened the window and jumped out.

"What just happened?" Tooth asked looking around at everyone. Everyone was very confused by Jack's reaction, it unnerved them.

"I don't know mate. But I'm going to find out." Aster swore tapping a hole open and jumping down, heading to the one person that could give them an answer.

Mother Nature.

**Well, I will continue writing the next chapter and hopefully we find out what is going on with Jack and if Mother Nature can shed some light on the situation. We may also meet some of Jack's seasonal siblings. Till next time! Bye! **


	4. Chapter 3: A Trend

**Hey y'all! I'm back! So much has happened since I last updated, I got a job and just today I got promoted to manger and I will start to take manager classes this Wednesday and my real birthday is this weekend. So this has so far been a big week. I haven't written a lot because I work almost every day and I just am exhausted and unmotivated at the end of the day. Yet given what happened today I had inspiration hit me and I had to finish this chapter, also you can thank icy_evergreen over on AO3 for writing a comment and adding to my motivation. So this chapter is dedicated to them.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Dreamworks Rise of the Guardians or William Joyce's characters. I only own my characters and plot.**

Aster rushed through his tunnels until he reached the edge of Nature's realm, knowing that she protects her realm from anyone just walking in, the only ones that can enter freely are the Spirits of the Seasons. Aster has known Nature since before she came to this planet, though she was only a child then, and was still known as Emily Jane. But once she came to Earth, she abandoned that name and only a very small group were allowed to use her name. He was not one of them. In fact, of the Guardians only Tooth and Sandy were allowed to call her Emily, though she prefers Tooth to call her that, Sandy's more dependent on her mood.

He looked around the clearing he arrived in, he was looking for the oldest tree around, that would be his way into the realm. The clearing was around 12 feet in diameter and surrounded by large, tall trees. All of the trees appeared to be the same age but if you had enough magic knowledge as well as power, you would be able to look over the glamour that surrounded a particular tree.

The tree looked like an ordinary tree but Aster could see the age that radiated from its bark, if he had to guess, it was over 4,000 years old. Nature choose this tree as her guardian because of what they had gone through, throughout their long lifespan. They had gone through wildfires, devastating winters, flooding, and droughts. They have been through many hardships, but have survived and persevered. Just like Nature. Now all he had to do was knock.

Aster knocked three times on the rough bark and waited for a response. If Nature was in a good mood, she may let him in and answer his questions. If she was in a bad mood, she may transport him to the Arctic. By the stars I hope she's in a good mood.

After a bit of waiting and no response, Aster started to turn away already thinking of another way to find answers. But just as he was going to open a tunnel to leave a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Leaving so soon Bunnymund? And here I thought you wanted to see me." Aster turned back and saw who the voice belonged to, after all there was only one person that called him by his last name. Mother Nature. She was a willowy woman with pitch black hair that surrounded her like a black cloud. Her current dress was dark green on the bottom and it got lighter as it went up, she had long bell shaped sleeves which were embroidered with symbols of the different seasons. Her dress really gave off the feeling of Renaissance and drama. She really looked like her father especially within her face. She had a severe face, high cheekbones, thin lips, and bright silver-gold eyes, just like her father. But unlike her father, there was no malice, no hate. Just indifference. Because she is neutral. And though they all hoped she would choose their side and fight her father with them, she has refused. She still believed her father was there within the monster, deep down she was still the little girl looking for her daddy.

" 'llo Nature, I figured you weren't in the mood to talk." Aster replied. His response got a small smile from her, which was practically a grin for her.

"I was just busy reprimanding some sprites. Please, do come in. I'm sure my children have been dying to say hello." She stated, waving a hand at the old tree and opening a rainbow portal. She stepped into the portal, knowing he'll follow. "Though if your looking for Jack, he isn't here. Hasn't been for a few weeks. Says he's been working on getting believers." She continued once she was out of the portal, Aster barely able to catch what she was saying as he rushed through. She continued to chatter on as they walked toward her home. Aster though was thinking about what she had said about Jack. He hadn't been in her realm for weeks. So he wasn't coming to see Nature like he said he was, and he said he spared with Osiris in her grove but if he was here, she would know. Why lie about where he spared Osiris?

"Now Groundhog has been having such a hard time trying to let my predictions known and with his own coming up soon, he's been in a tizzy. He really hates doing that silly ceremony." She mentioned as they walked past a few sprites that were working on some hybrid plants.

"Very nice my dear, make sure to write down how the process was done. What do you think Bunnymund?" Nature asked, turning away from a young sprite.

"I'm sorry Nature. What did you ask?" Aster replied having been distracted by his thoughts.

"Hmm, you're not usually so distracted Bunnymund. You usually are trying to steal some of my plant secrets. What is on your mind? I'm sure this isn't a social call." She asked moving them away from the snooping sprites.

"Do you mind if we talk about this in your home? Too many eyes and ears." He asked looking around at the sprites that surrounded them, most pretended not to be listening while some were not as polite. Nature narrowed her eyes at Aster before turning to the sprites.

"Please go back to your jobs, we don't need another failed experiment, now do we?" She stated narrowing her eyes at the sprites who jumped and quickly went back to working, knowing they'll face her wrath if they don't.

"Right this way Bunnymund." She stated moving down a path that was almost completely covered by brush but once they got close, it moved away and once they passed it, it closed behind them. Ahead of them was a large manor. It was absolutely stunning, and intimidating. Various types of foliage covered the manor, from flowers and vines, to icicles and frost. The front door was surrounded by Autumn leaves giving off an aura of mystery and calm.

They step inside the large manor and Aster is surprised by how homey the manor feels. There are paintings everywhere, some just showing depictions of the different seasons, and some showing Nature with various Spirits. There was even a small one almost hidden behind a large vase, of her as a little girl next to a handsome tan man. Kozmotis Pitchner, aka, Pitch Black. She still loves him, and still wants him back. Even after everything he's done. She still has hope.

"We can talk in here Bunnymund. No one should bother us." She stated gesturing toward a set of dark wood doors. She opened one of the doors revealing the room that laid ahead.

The room was large and dimly lit. There was a large obsidian fireplace on the far-side of the room, the mantle was covered in picture frames and knickknacks. In front of the fireplace were two plush, modern armchairs, colored a deep purple. In front of the chairs was a beautiful silver ornate table. Several bookcases lined the walls, their wood a dark walnut stain, which contrasted well with the lighter walnut floor. There was also a large fluffy white rug that had hints of silver and blue throughout it, laid out on floor in the center of the room. Really most of the things in the room didn't seem to fit together yet they oddly did. A bit like the Guardians, if he thought about it.

Nature sat down in one of the chairs and gestured for Aster to take the other once she saw that he was done looking around the room. Once he sat down, she began to speak.

"You know, this is Jack's favorite room. Whenever he comes here, this is the first place he goes to. And if he ever wants to be alone, he comes here. My other children greatly dislike this room. Say its too clashing. But not Jack. He loves how different it is." Nature told him with a loving smile. It seems that Jack was her favorite child. Aster gave a small smile and looked around the room once more. The more he thought about it, the more that he saw that it suited him.

"Well, the kid seems to have strange tastes. Last time I saw him before the Easter disaster, he was wearing those leather pants with a fluffy blue winter coat. Kid looked like a child," Aster told her.

"Ah, yes. Easter of '68. Where you yelled at my child for doing nothing wrong." Nature replied curtly, sending a glare at Aster. Causing him to tense.

"An unscheduled blizzard hit several towns which canceled several hunts. I lost quite a few believers, from that show pony's stunt. I figured you would have gotten upset over that. You are about balance after all." Aster replied.

"I am about balance and that blizzard was naturally formed. And if you lost believers over that, then you were already in the process of losing them, but really whats a few believers to the billion you have? Besides, I sent him a message to get it under control when I heard about it, he was able to confine it. What you saw was control, not a stunt." She stated right as the door opened and a regal looking elf entered holding a serving tray with two glasses filled with a dark liquid. They placed the tray on the table in front of them and after bowing at Nature, they left the room, as silent as ever.

"Very well, you have a point. I'll make sure to apologize to Jack the next time I see him." Aster said giving her a small nod.

"Good, he deserves it. Now please, have a drink. I recall you liked this vintage the last time you visited me. Which was, what? About 400 years ago, I believe? I recall you in clothes." Nature told him as she took one of the glasses and took a sip.

"Yes I believe it was. I was wearing clothes back then, that was before the chocolate consumption was more common." Aster replied grabbing the last glass and also taking a sip. It was a delightful vintage of whiskey that he had always appreciated but it was not commonly found.

"Nature, if I may ask. Whats with the elf that came in? Last time I came here, you didn't have servants." Aster asked, curious about the elf.

"Sylvar is not my servant. This is a punishment that their mentor asked for. Apparently they were getting a bit, how do they say, 'big for their britches'. They wanted to teach them some humility, so I agreed." Nature explained setting down her glass.

"Now that the small talk is over how about you tell me why you're here Bunnymund." She asked crossing one of her legs over the other.

"Blunt as always Nature. Very well, I'm here to talk to you about Jack. I'm worried about him." Aster stated ready to tell Nature his concerns.

"Why are you worried about him? He seemed fine the last time I saw him. Very excited to be a Guardian." Nature stated keeping her face neutral.

"You know that I was recovering from this past Easter but around the same time, Jack went missing and we searched for him until Sandy found him asleep. He freaked when Tooth touched him and he said that he had a nightmare and was a light sleeper. When we asked where he had been he said that he was hibernating and recovering from being magically exhausted. That seemed strange to me because he should be at the peak of his powers right now and a spirit as powerful as him should not take that long to recover.

"Then, there was what happened today. He came late with a black eye and bruised neck. Which he explained was from some sprites fighting and a spar with Osiris that went wrong. So that wasn't the odd thing. I asked again if he would tell us why he was missing for those months, he said no and suddenly left after saying that he had to update you on the sprites and talk to you about Osiris. Hope you weren't too tough on Osiris, you know he goes rough when he spars. So do you know where Jack was?" Aster explained hoping Nature can answer some of his questions. Yet as he looked into Nature's face, what he say worried him. Her usually neutral face was in a deep frown as well as a look of worry in her eyes.

"Aster, I know that Jack was missing but he told us that he was with his believers not that he was recovering. He only needed to hibernate for about a month. When North told us that he was found, we figured he just forgot to tell you he was with his believers, we had just been so busy...

'What did you mean by the bruises? No sprites got in a fight this morning. At least none that I know of and Osiris was with his girlfriend today. Let me call him. He should be here right now." Nature told him, showing how concern she was by her calling him by his first name.

"Why would Jack lie about the bruises? Did you even summon him today with the Wind?" Aster asked knowing becoming even more concern.

"Osiris is on his way. I don't know why Jack would lie, he's usually very honest. And no, I don't use the Wind to send a message. I have no need. I can talk to my children telepathically, why did you think that? The Wind doesn't send messages unless Jack says its okay, they are highly devoted to him." Nature answered getting up to start pacing.

"I saw that a piece of wind move some of his bangs, that's when he said he had to come and talk to you. But, his expression was a bit weird, he seemed kind of scared or worried. I figured he was worried about you getting mad at his sibling for his bruise." Aster told her, watching her as she paced.

"How could I have missed all of this?" Nature asked out loud, obviously distressed.

"Nature, he tried very hard to hide it. Do you know why he would hide his injuries? Does he have any enemies?" Aster asked hoping to calm her.

"I don't know why he would hide it. He isn't one to take a hit without hitting back. He always stands up for himself, I just don't understand. He doesn't really have any enemies, at least none that I know of." Nature answered. Before Aster can ask for more information, the doors opened once more and three people entered.

The first person that Aster noticed was Osiris, the Spring Spirit. He still looked how Aster remembered him a few years ago, though his clothes had changed. He was a tall man, around 6 feet tall, though that may not be so significant now, when he was alive, it was very uncommon. Osiris was darkly tan with dark curly hair and dark green eyes. He looked to be in his mid 30's and was currently wearing a tight dark green v-neck and black slacks that ended right over his sandal covered feet. Next to him was a young slender woman wearing a summer yukata which was white with blue/gray flowers covering it along with a dark blue wrap around her waist. She was also wearing a traditional Japanese sandal called zori. She had long black hair that was currently tied up with a white Japanese rose pinned on the side of her head. She had friendly chocolate brown eyes that exuded kindness and warmth. She was the Summer Spirit, Amaterasu.

Behind them was another woman who appeared in her late 30's and was long and lean. She had long wavy golden hair, similar to the color of wheat. She had a very sheer veil flowing over her hair and she was wearing a simple robe the color of pale gold with a belt of grain wrapped around her waist. She wore dark brown slippers with light gold embellishments decorating the shoes. Actually if Aster looked closer at her robe, she had dark brown embellishments flowing down looking like falling leaves. The embellishments made sense since this woman was Demeter, the Autumn Spirit.

"Mother? Whats going on? You sounded very worried in your call. I hope you don't mind that Demer and Amaterasu came with me, it was just very concerning. I thought you may be in trouble." Osiris stated closing the door once the women had entered the room.

"It is fine Osiris, I'm glad that you are all here my children. I need to ask you all some questions." Mother told them inviting them to take a seat. Demeter gave Aster a look of confusion and suspicion. Nature saw the look that Demeter gave him.

"Its alright my darling, Aster is a part of this and has brought something to my attention that we must solve." Nature reassured her.

"What exactly has the Easter Bunny brought to your attention Mother? Last I heard you two weren't on speaking terms." Amaterasu asked.

"Its about Jack." Aster stated wanting answers more than being polite.

"What about our little sibling? Don't tell me you all chased him off. Because if you did, you may want to run rabbit. Haven't had a good hunt in ages." Osiris told him tapping his fingers on the armrest of the chair he sat in. Before Aster could retort some choice words, Nature interrupted them.

"None of that now. Aster has just informed me that Jack has been hiding injuries."

"What kind of injures Mother?" Demeter asked in concern.

"What injures we know about are a black eye and bruised neck which he claims are from a fight with some sprites and a sparing session with you, Osiris. He also lied about where he was when he went missing. He told a different story each time he was asked . We don't know what other injuries he could be hiding or did hide.

That is why I called you here Osiris, I wanted to check on his story." Nature explained, keeping her emotions in check.

"I haven't seen Jack for days. I was at the Gathering. I didn't even hear about any sprite fights." Osiris stated concerned over what he had heard.

"None of my sprites reported any fights." Amaterasu stated also concern.

"My sprites also reported no fights." Demeter told them.

"I also had no reports of sprites fighting. Nothing that could explain Jack's injures." Nature stated.

"Which is why Nature asked you here. Do you know if Jack has any enemies?" Aster asked getting impatient.

"The only enemy that we know of is of you Easter Bunny. You were the only one he had conflict with. Well you and now Pitch Black, though I doubt that he would harm Mother's children." Amaterasu answered with a small narrowing of her eyes. Aster's ears went down in guilt at hearing that. He hadn't realized that he was Jack's only real adversary.

"Fath-Pitch, wouldn't dare touch one of my children. Especially Jack." Nature retorted barely biting back the word father. Not everyone knows that Pitch Black was her father and from the look of Osiris's sympathetic glance, he was the only one that knew and caught her slip up.

"Why wouldn't Pitch dare touch Jack? From what I saw during our battle, he was more than willing to hurt Jack. Tossed him into a dumpster. Who knows what else happened when he was alone with him." Aster replied.

"I've...spoken with Pitch and I've let him known what would happen if he touches my child ever again. He would not make the mistake of incurring my wrath." Nature stated.

"Are you positive that there are no other enemies? Jack could be hiding the fact that he has enemies. He was alone for over 300 years, he may have had you but you couldn't have been with him all the time. It had to have affected him." Aster asked once more, finding it hard to believe Jack had no enemies. Hell, he had a bunch of enemies and he rarely left his home.

"While we may not have been with our young brother all the time, that did not mean we left him alone. He could come to us whenever he wanted, we never told him no and he had no reason not to trust us with any issues he was having." Amaterasu stated delicately folding her hands in her lap.

"Yeah, Jackie could always come to us, he just never took our offer. He would tell us if he had a problem." Osiris insisted.

"Obviously not dear brother, if he is hiding injures. And I highly doubt that these are the only injures he's had." Demeter stated leaning back in her seat.

"What do you mean sister?" Osiris asked.

"If Jack is being hurt by someone and we are just now discovering injuries then that means that they no longer care to hide it. When someone is being first abused, the abuser takes care to hide the injures because they don't want to be caught or feel guilty. But if the abuse carries on for a significant amount of time then they no longer feel guilt, they enjoy it more and are less careful with the injuries because they know that no one will stop them, especially not their victim. And if their victim wont talk, no one finds out and if no one finds out then the abuse continues. Its a cycle, all that ends it is either the victim becomes brave enough or they die. I wonder how long Jack has been abused. We are fools for never realizing it." Demeter explained, showing no emotion but if one watched her hands they would see tightly closed fists of barely controlled rage.

"You believe he is being abused Demeter?" Nature asked.

"Yes."

"You have no real evidence Demeter and you all just said he has no enemies. So who would abuse him?" Aster asked not wanting to consider that Jack may be getting abused.

"Who says that his abuser is an enemy?" She replied with a shrug of a shoulder.

"You think the abuser is a friend?" Osiris asked.

"An enemy feels no shame or guilt for hurting someone they hate. Someone that loves him would. Or at the very least had some care for the boy."

"I thought he had no one that really cared for him except you four." Aster stated.

"There are many spirits that care for Jack. He is one of the youngest spirits in our world. As well as one of the most powerful. Even some of the darkest creatures show some level of care for him. Even the old Gods have a soft spot for him. Once again the only one that really had an issue with him was you.

At least we know you aren't abusing him, since you never cared about him till the moon told you to." Osiris said with a jab at Aster. Aster gave out a quiet growl. True he never really got along with Jack, but he didn't hate him. Yet he also never realized how the rest of the spirit world saw Jack. Were him and the Guardians so out of touch with the world?

"Do you know if he was particularly close with anyone and now doesn't mention them?" Nature asked sending a reprimanding glare at Osiris.

"I remember that he mentioned meeting some new spirits that had invited him to their home but then he never mentioned them again. I think I even asked him about it but all he said was that it went okay and then he left. I didn't really think anything about it." Amaterasu told them trying to remember that day.

"You don't remember the names of the spirits he mentioned?"Demeter asked.

"Hm, I don't remember. It was so many years ago, though he did mention that one of the spirits had somethings in common with him. I think he mentioned that they were of similar nature. I don't know about the others." She answered with regret.

"Exactly how many years ago was this?"Demeter asked.

"It was around the 1900's I believe. At least over 40 years ago."

"It was 1968."

"What makes you think that Aster?" Nature asked seeing Aster with a horrified face.

"On Easter 1968, a massive blizzard happened. Twelve people died and thousands of dollars of damage happened. I went and looked for the source of the blizzard because there was no report of any possible blizzard. I found Jack in the middle of the eye. I told him off and he just looked at me...and took off. Thinking back, something was off about him. He wasn't as playful as he usually was. Something had to had happened with those spirits Amaterasu, something traumatic." Aster explained with guilt in his voice.

"But that blizzard was naturally made, he couldn't have created it. His magical signature would have been all over it. He doesn't know enough about magic to hide his signature." Nature stated not wanting to believe that something had caused her child to create a dangerous blizzard because of the trauma.

"Unless, he didn't create it but helped facilitate it and he had a trusty friend be the catalyst." Demeter offered.

"What do you mean sister?" Amaterasu asked.

"The Wind help. They created the current needed to make a blizzard. Obviously Wind sensed or saw how distressed Jack was and responded in their own way to protect him. They were his first caretaker after all." She explained.

"If Wind does truly know about what is going on, why not tell one of us about it. Why hide that Jack, someone they care about, is being hurt." Osiris asked not understanding why Wind would go along with it.

"Wind may be very ancient and care for Jack deeply, but I doubt that they understand what is going on with Jack, at most they understand the very basic emotions. Jack probably convinced them that he was fine and to not tell anyone. He might have had them think it was a game or even made sure to never show how hurt he really was." Nature explained, knowing that Wind's devotion to Jack was great.

"So what do we do now? Confront Jack? We have no real evidence. All we know is that he has some bruises and went missing for a few months. And that something happened to cause the blizzard of '68." Osiris stated with frustration. While the others discussed what to do, Aster was think of what other evidence they may have. When he suddenly remembered something.

"You said that Jack may be having Wind hide what is going on right?" Aster interrupted.

"Yes, Wind could be helping to cover-up his injuries." Nature answered curios about where Aster was going with this.

"What if they are doing more than that. What if Jack is so scared of upsetting his abuser that he made sure that if they wanted to see him, he would know instantly and go to them?" Aster suggested.

"Are you saying that Wind is sending messages from Jack's abuser to him?" Osiris asked.

"Exactly, earlier today a piece of wind brushed through Jack's bangs, in a room with no natural breeze. After that piece of wind went through his bangs, Jack said that Nature was calling him and he looked scared and worried. Nature said that she doesn't send messages through the Wind, in fact no one does because Wind only sends messages to Jack if Jack wishes to receive messages.

So if Nature didn't send the message, maybe his abuser did. And maybe those months he was missing he was with his abuser or hell maybe even hiding from them."Aster explained his theory, now fearing the worst. If Jack was willing to make sure he was always available to his abuser, just how much control did his abuser have over him.

"This is worst than we thought. He could have been getting abused for over 40 years and we had no idea and one of closest friends is helping to keep in contact with the abuser. Bless the stars, how could I have missed all of this." Nature exclaimed covering her eyes with a shaky sigh.

"Mother, Jack is very independent and good had hiding things. He doesn't like to make others worry. Not if he can make them smile and have fun." Amaterasu told her putting a comforting hand on her back.

"He's a child. My child, I should have been there for him. I should have given him more love, I should have given him more attention. I should have done more. This is my fault." Nature stammered, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

"You did all you could Nature. This isn't your fault." Aster told her.

"Mother, Aster is right. You did all you could. Now we just have to focus on helping Jack get some help. We have to find Jack. We have to help him." Demeter stated.

"Now we just have to find out where he is and hope that our suspicions are true." Osiris said ready to help Jack and destroy whoever dared harm his little brother.

"We have to get Wind to tell us. They're our only hope of finding evidence to what is happening to Jack and finding where he is." Amaterasu exclaimed.

"And how do we convince them to tell us where he is. Jack must've told them not to tell anyone where he was or what was going on." Osiris asked.

"We tell them our suspicions and pray that they believe us." Nature answered having calmed down.

"And if they don't?" Demeter asked.

"I don't know." Nature stated not knowing what else to tell them.

Aster prayed to the stars that they found Jack before it was too late and that Jack was willing to receive their help. May the stars be by their side.

0000000000

"Oh, Jackie. I'm so happy you came. You have no idea how much we have missed you." A soft voice whispered causing a shiver to run down Jack's back. He could feel his body begin to tremble and his breathe begin to pick up.

"Oh, don't be scared Jackie. You know you enjoy our time together, or you wouldn't be coming back every time." A second voice whispered with a chuckle as he jumped.

"Aw, is little Jackie still scared? You would think after all of this time you wouldn't be so nervous, but you know I love how inexperienced you are. It gets me so excited." A third voice appeared making Jack shaking even harder before he was suddenly pushed, falling back onto a soft bed. It might have well have been a a bed of nails.

"Now, should we start where we left off?" The first voice asked with a chuckle.

"Ooh yes, make sure to have the collar be a bit tighter, I like hearing him gasp for air." The third voice exclaimed running a finger down Jack's heaving chest.

"Now, now. It's my turn to go first and I've been dying to try some new toys. Wouldn't you like that Jackie?" The second voice stated causing Jack to whimper in fear.

"Let's get started, shall we?" That was the last thing he heard before his world vanished into a cloud of pain.

** So we are starting to learn more about what Jack is going through, there will be about two or three more chapters left. The next chapter will get into more detail, not too much, of exactly what he was going through all of these years. Anyone have any ideas of who is involved or what exactly he had been going through?**

** Please leave any reviews or comments, it really is helpful and motivating. Also you can check out my other stories if you haven't already by clicking on my profile.**

**Okay until next time! Bye!**

**Reviews: **

**Demi clayton: Thank you so much for your review and I hope that you like this new chapter!**

**Camhopsmith: Thank you so much for your review and I hope you like this new chapter, and yes you will be finding out what exactly Jack is hiding.**

**Banana Bird: Thank you for reviewing and I hope that you like this new chapter!**


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